


You Always Make Me Smile

by jeffannies



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Cute, Drinking, Drunken Kissing, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Kissing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-05 23:36:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20497238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeffannies/pseuds/jeffannies
Summary: Set after Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing. So what happens when Annie and Jeff get to the bar?A fic following all the little behind the scenes moments between Jeff and Annie that canon didn't show us.





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey, I know this great bar for people that don’t hate themselves. What do you say?” Jeff offered, his arm already stretched out for her to take.

He had seen all the signs to know she needed a little cheering up. He recognised that sad look she got in her eyes, the way she pouted and the face she pulled when she was holding back tears. Hell, he had been the reason she’d pulled the exact same face at him many times before. And he absolutely _hated_ the sight of her sadness, he would do pretty much anything to ensure she would be ok again.

What? It didn't _mean anything_. He was just looking out for a friend. A friend he cared about a lot.

“Milady?”

She wrapped her arm around his and smiled the smile that always made him feel a little weak at the knees.

“Milord.” She let out a soft giggle and wandered off with him, all too happy with the distraction he was offering.

-

They end up on the other side of down in some dimly lit bar that Annie didn’t recognise. It was pretty empty already, but was even worse off once Elroy and Britta decided to leave after one drink, claiming they both had something better to be doing.

Jeff was doing the thing he usually did with his drinks, holding the glass up slightly, rolling the liquid around the glass and watching the movement. She had been watching it too, somewhat mesmerised by the sight of him and his alcohol.

“So, you gonna tell me what was going on back there?” he asked, not even looking up from his glass.

Annie looked down into her cocktail and frowned. “I just wanted to be the star, you know?”

“Since when did you want to act?”

“I don’t. At least I don’t _think_ I do. It would’ve been nice to have been good at it though.”

“I thought you wanted to go into forensics?” Jeff questioned, turning to her to study her face. She was trying her best to keep a poker-face, but he had known her long enough to see through her façade. He knew how easy it was for her to get passionate about causes and campaigns, but this whole drama thing hit her out of the blue. He didn’t quite get it, but understood how easy it was to get sucked up into the Greendale of it all.

“I do. I do. I just… I just would’ve liked to have my moment you know. Feel the spotlight. Have everyone cheer for me.”

“Well, I guess something I’ve come to learn is that we can’t all be good at everything.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “Thanks.” She tightened her lips and let out a frustrated sigh, barely making eye contact with him.

“Look Annie, you and I both know you can do nearly everything you put your mind to. You’re gonna do amazing once you leave here and we both know it,” Jeff said, and he genuinely meant it. If there was one person in the group that he honestly had no doubts in actually making something of themselves, it was Annie. She had the ambition, the drive, the raw intelligence and talent. She was a force to be reckoned with, and it was about time she believed it. She didn’t need to hold herself back. Not like he always seemed to.

“What if I don’t?” her voice was soft and shaky, and Jeff knew she was fighting away tears.

“Look,” he slid closer to her in the booth, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in for a friendly embrace. “You will. You’re Annie Edison, you can do anything.”

“Anything but act, apparently.”

“Acting’s overrated,” he commented as if it were fact. “All the cool, hot girls are becoming forensic investigators now.” He moved away to finish his drink, knowing his comment would probably do the trick of perking her up a little.

“So I’m a cool, hot girl?” Annie had that flirty gleam in her eye that he knew all too well, even if he hadn’t seen it in a while.

Come to think of it, Jeff couldn’t really remember the last time they were alone together. Truly alone. Sure, they had their odd one on one conversations, but usually there was someone else there to interrupt, or somewhere else to be going.

Now it was just them, accompanied by little more than 5 other people in the bar, all of whom were complete strangers they’d probably never see again.

“I would use those words to describe you, yes.”

“Well what _other_ words would you use?” she sipped at her drink seductively, that look still pointed in his direction.

“If we’re going to have this conversation, I’m going to need another drink,” Jeff said as he stood up, holding his empty glass in one hand. He rolled his eyes at her playfully before walking away. She knew she had him right under her thumb, and Jeff knew she loved every minute of it.

-

By the time he had returned, Annie had treated herself to a fair few sips of her drink. She supposed if this was where the night was headed – towards flirty conversations, playful comments and their usual tiny moments of _something_ – she needed to be a little tipsy too.

“I got you another one, just in case,” he passed her across the Cosmopolitan and quite frankly she was shocked. Not long ago he would’ve refused to order something that would diminish his masculinity and street cred like a girly cocktail, yet he seemed to have done it for her without her even having to ask him, much less beg.

“Thank you,” she smiled warmly and placed her straw into her new drink.

“So, where were we?”

“You were just about to tell me all the _wonderful_ things you think about me,” Annie winked. She found herself leaning towards him, eagerly awaiting his response. This was perhaps her only chance to find out what Jeff really thought of her, now that a few glasses of scotch had lowered his inhibitions.

“Well you already know how pretty you are. And smart. And bold. You _can_ be a real pain in the ass sometimes,” Jeff commented, and Annie responded by nudging him in the side. He continued: “But it’s always for the greater good. And you put others first without losing sight of your own goals. I’m just really proud of how you’ve grown up. You’re this amazing young woman who’s going to go out into the world and show it who’s the boss.”

“Awww, Jeff,” she leaned into his side, smiling up at him adoringly. She never knew he felt like that. Sure, there was always that unspoken attraction there, otherwise they probably wouldn’t have kissed as many times as they did, but knowing he had this much faith in her and her future, it was just the boost she needed to re-centre her focus.

“You’re welcome,” he said simply. He sat in silence, sipping his scotch for a minute. There was something unspoken on his lips, but he wouldn’t say it. Annie waited. She tried not to look too disappointed when the moment passed.

-

A few drinks later, they were both quite sloppy. Annie was literally hanging off Jeff, her eyes fixed on his face, fixated on his every word.

He was telling some dramatic story about one of his crazy encounters with Chang from every that week and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. It came out loud and echoed across the bar, but she didn’t care. Neither of them did. They were actually having a really good night, just them.

“I missed this,” she announced, her hands still on his arm. She could feel his muscles through his sweater. Though she tried not to focus too hard on that fact. They were pretty irresistible.

“I missed you,” he said. “I feel like I’ve not seen you properly in a while. Too focused on Greendale I guess.”

“Well, you’ve been busy teaching,” she offered. “And with all the Save Greendale stuff…”

They both knew the reason things were different is because, well, they were. Jeff was focusing on teaching and getting his life back on track. He spent more time focusing on self-improvement and less on getting everyone to adore him, even if that did mean he was no longer throwing her as many flirty one-liners. She was glad he was doing something for him.

And he had noted a change in Annie too. She had grown – she wasn’t pining over anybody or anything – she went out and got what she wanted. She was focused, prepping herself for life after Greendale. And she was doing so well.

“Still. It’s a shame.”

She tutted in agreement, blushing slight. A hot rush sped through her body from head to toe, like electricity. She tried to ignore it.

“We could do this more often.”

“Sure. If that’s what you want.”

“Well what do you want Jeff?” she asked, and knew it was a loaded question the moment it left her lips.

“For you to be happy,” he answered, and offers her a genuine smile. Not his signature smirk, or a flirty grin, but his real, honest smile. Her heart melted a little at the sight of him.

“I am happy. Here. Right now. With you,” she was still leaning against him, looking up at him with dreamy eyes. It was only then that she realised how easy it would be to remove the space between them, to feel the burning sensation of his lips against hers.

“Me too,” he whispered against her head. He had shifted around the booth to close the gap between him, and now his cheek rested softly against her hair, the scent of her shampoo tickling his nose.

It didn’t take long for their lips to find each other, for his hands to tangle into her hair and for her to rest her hand against his chest, clutching his sweater, pulling him closer to her.

It was feverish, hungry. Fuelled by emotions that were only released due to the alcohol they’d consumed and prolonged sexual tension.

He smiled into her kiss, the way she held onto him as if she never wanted to let go. He had forgotten how good it felt to have her so close to him, how it felt when she melted around him. The way she managed to make him feel like a horny teenager all over again.

He was 40 now and still Annie Edison made him feel all giddy inside, like a school boy with a crush. It was ridiculous.

“You’re incredible,” he murmured into her mouth, and she smiled against him. She slanted her lips onto his once more in a sweet, quick peck.

“You know Jeff. I don’t think you hear it enough, but you’re amazing too.”

He couldn’t contain his excitement as he leant towards her again, pulling her onto his lap for a rougher, more passionate kiss. Jeff had realised he was now that guy, engaging in a heated make-out session in some seedy booth in some empty bar in Greendale, but he didn’t care. He could be anywhere with Annie and it wouldn’t have mattered, as long as her lips were against his.

A loud bell interrupted them as the bartender shouted for last call.

They jumped apart, Annie rubbed at her lips, still feeling the sparks where his mouth had just been.

“We should probably get out of here…” he suggested and took her hand to lead her out of the bar.

They end up getting separate cabs, which made sense as they had classes tomorrow and they probably needed to sleep off all the drinks…

But Annie didn’t want the night to stop there. She didn’t want to wake up tomorrow and have to act like it never happened. Pulling her phone out, she was tapping away before she even realised what she was doing.

TEXT: ANNIE: Jeff?

TEXT: JEFF: Yea?

TEXT: ANNIE: Thanks for tonight. I really appreciate you trying to cheer me up.

TEXT: JEFF: You don’t have to thank me. What are friends for?

TEXT: ANNIE: I don’t think friends are supposed to heavily pet each other in a bar *wink face*

TEXT: JEFF: Touché.

TEXT: ANNIE: I’m not complaining...

TEXT: JEFF: I’m not either.  
TEXT: JEFF: God, it’s gonna be hard to focus tomorrow.

TEXT: ANNIE: Because of the hangover?

TEXT: JEFF: Well yea, that.  
TEXT: JEFF: And some other things…

TEXT: ANNIE: Typical elusive Jeff Winger.

She waited a few minutes when she got home, but seeing as she hadn’t got a reply, and desperately needed to get to bed, she responded one last time.

TEXT: ANNIE: Sleep tight, Jeff.  
TEXT: ANNIE: And remember to drink plenty of water! *kiss face*

He read the text over a few times once he climbed into his bed, staring at the little photo of her at the top of his screen. Smiling, he placed the phone onto the side table and turned out the light. While he knew he wouldn’t be falling asleep just yet, he had his thoughts of Annie to keep him company, and that was about all he needed.


	2. Chapter 2

“What are you doing here?”

She wasn’t expecting to see him outside of their current routine of committee meetings and dancing around each other on campus, but when she had spotted him standing alone in the kitchen, she saw her chance to get his attention and took it.

They hadn’t spoken about _that night_ since it happened, either out of fear of ruining the equilibrium between them that they had spent the last six years building or because they honestly didn’t even know what to say to each other about it. 

For one thing Annie wasn’t about to chase him down to discuss their feelings. She knew that the topic would be written off and swept under the rug as usual. She had better things to concentrate on. There was just no use in waiting around for a conversation that was not going to happen. So why couldn't she stop herself every time her mind drifted to his lips, the way his body felt under her hands... 

“I guess I’m just one of those professors that hangs around at lame student parties now,” Jeff commented, not looking up from the floor. He was stood alone at the fake bar Britta had set up in their apartment and had a dejected look on his face. The usual smirking smile he usually reserved just for her was gone, replaced with frown and stern, dark eyes. “This is just my life now.” His words fell to the floor between them, his voice a grumble.

She could tell that something was wrong but she had no idea what. But looking into his eyes felt like staring into a pit of nothingness and regret, and she knew she had to do something.

“Do you want to,_ I don’t know_, maybe go somewhere tonight?” she looked at him, her eyes full of hope. She wanted him to say yes, not just because she didn’t want to stay the rest of the night waiting around for Britta’s party to end, locked in her room trying to work above the clatter drunken students embarrassing themselves. But because she was looking for an excuse to spend a little more time with Jeff, and she genuinely did want to help cheer him up.

It wouldn’t be long until her time at Greendale would all come to an end and she thought she might as well make the most out of her time left and do something with it. Even if it was just dancing around Jeff Winger – or squirming under his hot, heavy, desperate touch, at least she’d have some memories to look back on.

“I just really don’t want to be here right now.” Her eyes were pleading but Jeff hadn’t noticed. He still hadn’t glanced in her direction, his eyes fixed on the floor. He knew if he looked up, he would meet eyes with Annie and she’d send him that dangerous stare, and he might just accidentally let her know that he does kind of, sort of, really need her right now.

Jeff picked up his red cup and downed the rest of the amber liquid within. He looked her right in the eye as he spoke, “Me neither. I’ll drive.”

-

They climbed into his car in silence, both ready for a journey but neither one sure of the destination. They just needed to get out of there.

“Everything ok?” she looked over at him as he fussed over the radio. Though he may have been trying to hide it, he was clearly irritated, plucking at the buttons with deft, heated movements. A loud song suddenly blared out of the speakers and Annie winced until he turned the volume back down.

“Yeah. Just got one of those ‘I-told-you-so’ lectures from Britta,” Jeff said through gritted teeth.

“What did you do this time?”

“I didn’t do anything. Willy on the other hand…”

“Wait, who’s Willy?” she questioned, confused. She hadn't realised how out-of-tune she had become to Jeff's life recently.

“One of those prisoners. On those dumb iPads.”

“Right. So, what’s your problem with him?”

He had an odd look on his face, one that she had never seen before. He was all riled up, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. He hadn’t even made an effort to leave her apartment building’s parking lot yet, he was just sat there with a red mist looming over his head, breathing heavily and staring blankly ahead.

“He tried to push me down some stairs. To try and kill me,” Jeff muttered angrily.

“Oh. Um. Are you sure? Why would he do that?” she queried. She also wasn’t quite sure how the logistics of that manoeuvre would work or why some random convicted felon would try to murder Jeff Winger.

“I’m sure.” He nearly spat out the words. “Obviously it did nothing as he’s a fuckin’ iPad on a broomstick, but the fact is that he tried and no one believes me. He hates me, and no one cares because they’ve all fallen under his spell.”

“Hey. I believe you,” she reassured him with a soft, soothing voice, placing a gentle hand on his arm. He didn’t move away from her touch but she could feel his muscles were clenched under her hand. He hadn’t even looked at her since they got in the car.

She tried to muster up her most supportive smile and squeezed his arm. He seemed so helpless, more vulnerable than he probably wanted to be in front of her right now (or ever, if she really thought about it).

“So what are you going to do about this? You did convince the dean to do it for all that money, and I don’t think he’s going to let it go now." She realised what she was saying wasn't really helpful or productive. It would probably just make him feel worse. "We can try and figure something out?” she offered.

“I know. I know. I fucked up. Don’t worry about it.”

Technically, it wasn’t his fault. Annie knew that, and probably somewhere deep down inside Jeff did too. The dean never required much convincing when it came to anything Jeff said, but the rest of the group probably should’ve talked them out of it before it got this far. Plus, it was originally Frankie’s idea, and she should probably have known better than to get them all wrapped up in this chaos. But then again, this was _Greendale_ they were talking about.

Jeff silently pulled out of the car park, driving off. She wasn’t sure what to say to him but knew the silence would start to eat away at him if she didn’t reply soon. If there was one thing she learned about Jeff Winger over the years, is that on the rare occasion that he did open up about frivolous things like feelings and emotions, you had to be very attentive after. She was well aware of his vulnerabilities and was more than happy to help him get back to the Jeff Winger everybody knew loved, the sarky “effortlessly cool” guy that would act like this all never happened come tomorrow.

“Don’t blame yourself, Jeff. You hoped for the best in those people. You can’t help it if a _murderer_ actually tried to murder you.”

He grunted out a response, ending the conversation.

She supposed there wasn’t much left to say about it all right now. She couldn't magically fix this situation, she didn't even know how to. There was clearly something going on in that head of his, but there was only so much work Annie could put in to figure it all out.

She sat in silence next to him, her hand still on his arm, gripping at his shirt sleeve, watching the world pass by out the window. 

-

They ended up at his place because it was close and easy, and she didn’t exactly say no when he suggested it.

She wasn’t sure whether it was because she didn’t want to upset him by disagreeing or whether she just wanted to be somewhere quiet and intimate for the night, to be alone with him.

He led her in, holding the door open for her to pass through, before slamming it shut behind them. He walked silently into his kitchen, grabbed two glasses, filled them with scotch, and handed her one on his way back out. He still had the bottle in his hand as he got himself comfortable on the couch.

“So…” she breathed, unsure what to do. She suddenly felt awkward about being in his apartment with him, the two of them drinking into the night, completely alone. She had wanted this a moment ago, but now knowing what state he was in, 

“Let’s watch TV.”

He patted the seat beside him, and she curled up close to him in response. She was close enough to feel the warmth that radiated off his body or to feel his arm gently brushed against hers as they got comfortable, but she kept some space, not to seem too eager.

He switched on the set and flipped through the channels, settling for re-runs of The Office, not bothering to ask her what she wants. She didn’t mind, The Office was a cult classic after all, and she even started quietly laughing along to the jokes with the hopes that some easy-going television will lighten the mood between them.

“Thanks,” he whispered as they watched the tv. They didn’t look at each other and she didn’t respond, but instead she leant across to his side of the sofa, placing her head delicately on his shoulder and wrapping her arm around his comfortingly. He sighed into her light embrace, and Annie’s pretty sure he felt him graze a finger down her side. She ignored it.

They sat like that for a while, focused on the program, gently touching each other. He nestled his chin against her head and breathed in the aroma of her perfume, sweet and feminine, and thanked god he had someone as unquestionably good as Annie in his life. Someone that understood the way he felt and wouldn't say he was stupid or overreacting, that listened to his problems and knew when he wanted her to drop it.

Without her, he probably would’ve ended up sitting all alone and drinking himself in oblivion tonight. Or he could have punched a wall or something. Being honest, he probably would have done both.

-

“Do you think that the dean is like our Michael?” Annie questioned randomly, around two episodes into the marathon, finally breaking the silence between them.

Jeff let out a loud laugh at her suggestion, not sure which option was worse, the fictional character or their shocking reality.

“I’d say they’re probably on par with the whole annoyingly clingy boss situation. Not sure who I’d rather work with though,” he chortled as he thought about it. At least the guys from The Office didn’t have to deal with their Dean’s crazy costumes and late night texts. But then again, Michael was no angel.

“So who would that make us then?” she turned to him with bright eyes like she’s finally excited over something and Jeff can’t help but find it the slightest bit cute.

“I’d definitely be Jim.”

“You’re just saying that because you know everyone _loves_ Jim.” She rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

“What’s wrong with that? Are you saying people _don’t_ love me, Annie?” he said incredulously, playfully gasping at the suggestion.

She smiled back at him, letting out a little sigh as she spoke. “No Jeff. You’re just fishing for compliments. Again.”

“It’d be easier for us both if you played along.”

She was silent for a moment, lost in thought. “I guess I would probably be Angela, wouldn’t I?”

“Hmm. I’d say you’re more of a Pam to me.”

She tried not to think too deep into what that comment could imply.

-

They honestly didn’t mean to start kissing, but by now they had both accepted that it was just a thing that happened. Like fate. And there was no point fighting fate.

It was no surprise to either of them that the night resulted in their bodies fusing together with her legs straddled over his. She was sat in his lap, his breath hot on her neck as he found the perfect spot to kiss, nibble and tease. And with each little touch she moaned into his ear, begging for more.

There was a deep fire within both that urged them to continue, their hands constantly searched for new parts to explore. His were planted firmly on her hips, just under her shirt, rolling her body against his.

She moaned again, louder this time, and it drove him wild. They looked into each-other’s eyes; there was that familiar that flicker of lust and desire that fuelled them on. He practically growled as he slanted his lips over hers again and let his tongue explore her mouth. Everything about her tasted so sweet. And she knew just how to curl her tongue around his, and grind her body against him, that he had started to wonder why they hadn't been doing this all year. 

He knew it was wrong, that they probably shouldn’t have been there, practically dry humping on his sofa, while the rest of their friends got drunk and partied back at her place. But he needed this, _he needed her_, and wanted to feel like she needed him too.

And she did. She always did, no matter how hard she tried to deny herself of him, he was always there in the back of her mind.

One of her hands reached to open his shirt buttons slowly. She made quick work of pulling each side away from his torso and splayed her hands across his chest. His heart was racing, she could feel it. Annie had imagined this moment, the moment where a kiss might just lead into something more, and it wasn’t anywhere near as good as the real thing. 

-

She couldn’t remember falling asleep that night. It was all a bit confusing, waking up in a daze in Jeff Winger’s apartment.

When she opened her eyes, she realised that they must have just drifted off together at some point after all the kissing and dry humping and moaning each other's names. They were awkwardly curled into his couch despite the fact it was so uncomfortable and small.

Her head was on his lap, his hands nestled into her hair gently. His head hung down into his torso and he was snoring softly, sound asleep. He didn’t look comfortable at all, yet something had seemed so peaceful about the way he was all hunched over, she almost wanted to take a picture.

She didn’t.

She shot up, suddenly remembering that she had classes that morning, and tried to quietly sneak away so she didn’t wake him. His chest heaved as he snored and she watched his abdomen rise and fall with each breath, his shirt thrown across to the side of the room. She stood there for a moment, taking in the view.

Pressing a chaste kiss to the top of his head, she tip-toed away.

As she left, she spotted some paper on his kitchen counter and etched a quick note, knowing that once again, their night together would probably be filed under "do not discuss". 

“I hope you have a great day :) x”

-

She laughed, finally laughed at how stupid this all was once she was in the solace of her bedroom.

Once again, they had fallen victim to their desperate want for each other and found themselves tangled up together. They both knew that they were complicating their friendship even more by making out at what felt like any little chance they could get, but neither of them seemed to care about that. It was full of desire, the way that they constantly drifted towards each other, magnetised by their lips, their touch, their jokes. And yet, they always kept themselves from each other until they were drunk or alone long enough for those feelings to slip through.

The apartment was a mess, but she couldn’t bring herself to care right now. All she could think about was Jeff and the way he held her, the way she was sure she probably would have followed him into his bedroom, had he asked her to. 

Annie later found out that Abed and Britta assumed she had locked herself in her room to study last night. She didn’t bother to correct them.

-

When they ended up at that bar all together later that day, Annie tried to focus more on her moral victory with Britta over her night with Jeff.

Then when Jeff appeared, his ego bruised and at his wits end, and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. There he’d gone and overreacted. Anyone could’ve predicted it, but she felt a bit bad that she wasn’t able to stop him from doing something completely ridiculous.

She tried not to think too hard about everything that was happening with them when she offered him her advice. She tried to hide the fact that she was referring to more than just “the dean” as she exchanged a knowing look with him when she spoke.

“Have you ever thought about saying that **_to_** the dean?”

She tried not to seem too obviously disappointed when he didn’t get it. Boys were notoriously bad with hints and Jeff Winger seemed to be completely deaf to all of hers. He always had been, and she assumed he always would be. 

But there was more drama to focus on than the evolving saga between her and Jeff, so she pushed it to the side. At least she had Britta and Abed avert her attention to.

-

TEXT: JEFF: Thanks for your advice.  
TEXT: JEFF: Even if I’m not always the best at taking it.

TEXT: ANNIE: Did you just openly admit to having a flaw? Who are you and what have you done with the real Jeff Winger?

TEXT: JEFF: You figure things out with Britta yet?

TEXT: ANNIE: She got what was coming to her, don't you worry.

TEXT: JEFF: You’re starting to sound like a cheesy Bond villain.  
TEXT: JEFF: Have you been spending too much time with Abed?

TEXT: ANNIE: You know who I’ve been spending my time with... 

He drew in a deep breath as he read her latest message. He paused, unsure what to reply. They were headed down a dangerous path here.

TEXT: JEFF: Yea.

Another pause. He gulped as he pressed send.

TEXT; JEFF: So do you wanna do something soon or?

TEXT: ANNIE: You can come round ours for movie night next week?  
TEXT: ANNIE: Abed says to bring your own popcorn.

TEXT: JEFF: Cool. I’ll be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so hard to write so I hope you guys enjoyed it! I think it sets the tone nicely for the next chapter which I’m very excited to finish up! Let me know what you think :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during s6e06  
Abed tries to cool the tension post-leak with a movie night.

It had been a long fuckin’ day.

Jeff wasn’t sure if they were all still up for their planned movie tonight, considering today’s email leak and the chaos that followed, but he still found himself outside apartment 303, his hand held up to the door but not quite ready to knock.

He didn’t get a text saying that he _shouldn’t_ come over, but he didn't know if that was because they were still on for tonight, or because they all refused to talk to him. Jeff didn’t think he had done anything _that_ bad…

Finally, his fist met the wood of the door and the sound echoed in the hallway for a little bit too long. He stood in silence, waiting. He almost considered turning around and leaving, but then Abed appeared at the door and smiled and Jeff felt somewhat comforted about the fact that maybe things were ok between them.

“Hey Abed.”

“I just thought you should know the theme of movie night has changed.”

“Uh, right. What to?”

“I thought an electronic communication theme would suit, considering what’s happened this week. So we’re gonna watch You’ve Got Mail. I don't think time will allow us to watch another movie, but there's always next time.”

Jeff rolled his eyes and followed Abed into the apartment. It was a bit of a tone-deaf theme choice, but knowing Abed, he probably had some sort of ulterior motive that Jeff couldn't be bothered to try and figure out right now.

Annie and Britta were sat on the couch waiting, but both refused to look in his direction as he stepped toward them. He felt a large knot forming in his throat and tried to swallow it down.

“_Jeff_.” Britta turned to him with a little smirk and he knew instantly that they were fine. It was a start at least.

“_Britta_.” He replied with the same vigor.

Annie merely _hmph_ed from the other side of the couch.

_Shit_.

He considered turning around and darting out the door, but before Jeff could even react, Abed pushed him down gently, wedging him between Britta and Annie on the couch.

“Ready?”

Abed threw himself into the recliner and pressed play. The speakers blasted out the opening scene, but all Jeff focused on was the silence between him and Annie, and he couldn’t help but wonder what he could do to fix it.

-

They were about half-way through the movie when Annie finally stirred beside him, her arm just slightly grazing his. He knew she was trying to avoid his gaze; out the corner of his eye he saw every time she snuck a quick peek at him, her features softening ever so slightly, before she snapped her head away to focus on the screen in front of them. He couldn’t say that he didn’t look at her, she did look kind of cute all cosied up on the couch in her sweater…

He watched her hands toy with her hair nervously, her eyes fixed on the screen. He kept thinking back to the way she looked at him in the cafeteria, the way her eyes looked right through him as he walked in. The anger in her eyes and her voice when she found out they had her blood tested earlier that year. The way she winced when Elroy mentioned Chang’s daily Annie-Britta scale.

He coughed slightly, shifting in his seat. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Like a huge weight had just dropped on his shoulders when he was reminded just how shitty that seemed.

Yeah, he was pretty sure he was a dick.

But then he remembered what he had read in the leak, that one email of hers that made his chest tight, his knuckles white and his jaw stiff. He couldn’t exactly call her out on it without raising a few eyebrows, and he couldn’t be bothered to figure out what it probably implied, but he had read that one email she sent to one of her lame book club friends about the time Abed kissed her. Jeff felt weirdly jealous, he even found himself thinking about why she had never written emails about their kisses, why his name hadn’t popped up at all in any of the messages she had written.

He fidgeted again and decided to get up, he needed a little bit of space, away from the scent of Annie’s perfume, the little glances she sent his way and the way she huffed slightly when he moved the tiniest bit closer to her. He just needed a breather from the shitty feeling looming over him every time he looked at her.

So he stumbled into the kitchen, searching for a glass of water to get that goddamn lump out of his throat.

He heard some footsteps behind him and hoped it was Abed telling him he was missing an important scene or asking him to make some more popcorn.

He tried to think of an excuse he could make to get out of there so he wouldn’t have to deal with the tension between him and Annie.

But it wasn’t Abed.

It was Annie.

“Jeff.” She had a pointed stare and her foot was tapping rather impatiently on the tiled floor.

“Annie.”

“Don’t _Annie_ me.”

“What do you want me to say?” he raised his voice ever so slightly, waiting for her to scream at him. That was better than her little glares and angry sighs. At least he could defend himself.

“Shhhhh.” She lead him further into the kitchen, looking back to see if Britta or Abed had stirred. They hadn’t noticed them thankfully. “So I’m just your number 2, huh?” she said in almost a whisper; it was then that he spotted the sadness in her eyes. "I didn't realise you would do something so... _unpleasant._"

His jaw locked up and he gritted his teeth. “_Annie_.”

“It’s fine, Jeff.” It was clearly _not_ fine.

“It was 2 years ago… It didn’t _mean_ anything.”

“How do you think it felt to hear something like that? It's not surprising from Chang, but _you_? That hurt.”

He gulped. He didn’t really think about it when he had replied all those years ago. And it was just a joke. He probably said it because Annie pissed him off that day or something. It was thoughtless and reckless, and he didn’t know why Chang even started the dumb email thread anyway.

Besides, it was Annie that he kept spending all his time with now, she was the one who was constantly on his mind. It was Annie that he wanted to talk about when he had a bad day, the first person he thought of when he woke up in the morning… Not Britta.

“Well, obviously it wouldn't feel great. But like I said, it meant nothing. You don’t need to get so upset.”

She stepped away from him, a lonely tear spilling out her eyes, her hands over her mouth almost like she’s shocked that he’s not really great when it comes to handling emotions. He can’t blame her, he did sound a bit like a dick there.

“I’m sorry, ok. Jesus, Annie. If I had known that one shitty email leak would cause all this, I would never have even replied.”

She stayed silent, staring at his face and analysing his feature but he was giving nothing away. She honestly didn’t know what to do. She was saddened by what she heard. And why wouldn’t she be? She once spent a whole summer fantasising about Jeff Winger and the way he kissed her, only to be told it meant nothing. Then they had all these other little moments together, only for her to eventually find out he was secretly having sex with Britta. Now here they were, restarting this cycle of Annie feeling something, only to end up getting hurt.

He shouldn’t even be ranking them in the first place, that stupid jerk. He can't just constantly pick between them, choosing who he preferred at that moment, as if they didn't have any feelings.

“I don’t know what to say,” she whimpered, and Jeff reacted instinctively, grabbing her and pulling her close and holding her in his arms. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I’m _really_ sorry,” he repeated into her hair. He didn’t know what he could do to make it better but he really wanted to try.

It was probably the first time in a while he really, truly cared about someone's feelings more than his own.

He reached for her chin, placed a delicate finger underneath and lifted her face slightly, slanting his lip over hers, whispering another apology into her mouth.

Her eyes were glazed over when they moved apart, her hand still rested on his arm and gaze had softened from the harsh stares she was shooting him before, so he couldn’t help but let a little smile grace his lips.

“Let’s just forget it even happened,” Annie finally said, but he couldn't help but hear the tiny croak in her voice as she spoke.

“If it makes you feel better,” Jeff breathed out a sigh, feeling dizzy and unsure whether he should continue his sentence. But he did, even if it did make his heart jump. “You’d be my number 1 now.” 

And always, he thought to himself. But he didn't share that part with her.

She tried not to seem too happy about his statement, tried to hide that little thump in her chest, but he saw that little grin that teased her lips clear as day.

“Just promise me one thing,” she replied, still looking up at him with those irresistible doe eyes. 

“Anything.”

“Don’t you _ever_ rank us again.”

He pressed his lips back against hers as if to seal the deal.

Lost in the moment, his hands found themselves tangled into her hair and she let out a quiet moan against his mouth as his tongue darts inside.

They stood like that for a minute, completely lost in each other’s embrace and soft kisses.

Suddenly they jumped apart and Annie turned away, fiddling with something as Jeff turned to see Abed approaching.

Annie jumpstarted into a conversation about something he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to because he was too busy thinking about the way she felt in his arms, so delicate and small, and how he wanted nothing more than just one more kiss...

Abed tumbled in and blinked at them. “What are you two doing? The best scene is about to come on.”

“Making more popcorn!” Annie announced innocently, a little too loud than she probably needed to be, and Jeff wondered when the hell she even had time to put the bag in the microwave as it started popping beside him.

Abed sent them both a curious look before nodding a 'cool cool cool' at them and walking back out.

“That was close,” he whispered in her ear. 

His breath was hot on her neck and her cheeks flushed, a chill ripping through her body at the sensation.

She stopped herself from grabbing his hand and pulling him towards her to feel his lip on hers again and watched as he smoothly turned around and saunters back towards the couch.

-

TEXT: JEFF: U as bored as I am?

TEXT: ANNIE: Only boring people get bored *wink face*

TEXT: JEFF: Wow.  
TEXT: JEFF: You of all people know how *not* boring I am.

TEXT: ANNIE: Why are you texting me right now? Watch the movie!

She squirmed in her seat as she pressed send, acutely aware that Abed was glancing over in their direction as they typed into their phones. She gave Jeff a pointed side-eye, to which he responded with a crooked grin. At least she was only being judged by one of her friends – Britta had randomly fallen asleep at some point and judging by the sounds of her snoring she wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.

TEXT: JEFF: Was hoping you'd entertain me more than my Twitter feed.  
TEXT: JEFF: Cmon Annie. Why don't we go out somewhere?

TEXT: ANNIE: I don’t know Jeff, it’s nearly midnight and I have classes tomorrow…

TEXT: JEFF: Yawn

Jeff tapped away on his keyboard, coming up with a witty response about it probably being past her bed time anyway when Abed turned the TV off.

“I’m going to watch Inspector Spacetime in my room now. Night you two.”

They sat in silence, watching their friend leave the room before turning to each other, giddy like school children at the chance of being finally alone. 

“That’s probably my cue to leave too then, if you’re going to be boring,” Jeff dramatically sighed, shifting on the couch.

Britta flopped down beside him, her snores filling the silence that followed.

He wiggled his brows at Annie in one last attempt to persuade her, but he was fairly sure the movement was futile, he didn’t have her damn convincing doe eyes working for him. 

“I’m not _boring_,” she huffed. “I have _responsibilities_. I don’t need to be going out at ungodly hours on escapades with you, Jeff. Besides, don’t you have a class to teach tomorrow too?”

“Probably.”

She rolled her eyes at his comment, she wished he put a little more effort into his teaching, more effort than putting on Planet Earth DVDs and giving the occasional Jeff Winger motivational speech. But that was him all over, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t change him. She just wanted him to realise his full potential. 

“You’re ridiculous,” she announced as she walked across the room. The thought of being that unorganised made her shudder.

“You mean ridiculously handsome, right? I know. It’s a blessing and a curse.”

She tried to fight the smile that his comment evoked, but he was looking up at her with those irresistible eyes and that cheeky grin and she couldn't help but let the bashful feeling take over.

“Shut up.”

“So you agree. I’m ridiculously handsome?” he took some steps towards her, closing the gap between them, his face dangerously close to hers. He didn’t make a move to lean and kiss her, but instead he looked at her lips hungrily, a dark look in his eye.

“I-“ Annie stuttered slightly, taken aback by his flirting. She couldn’t believe that they were here again, tiptoeing the lines between friends and whatever the hell kept happening with them, but she couldn’t ignore that pesky voice in her head that demanded them to kiss.

And of course, she gave in.

She tugged on his sweater and slammed her lips onto his, pulling his body right onto hers. He quickly wrapped his arm around her waist so that no space remains between them and deepened the kiss.

They pulled apart in just as much of a hurry and quickly scanned the room to ensure no one had spotted them. But Abed was still in his room, the faint sound of an Inspector Spacetime episode echoing into the silence, and Britta was snoring on the sofa and they were fine.

They really had to stop doing this.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Jeff,” she smiled as she ushered him to the door and quickly waved him out. Once he was gone, she sank to the floor by the front door with a sigh.

Annie was a planner, she was prepared for everything, she was a problem solver. She wasn’t the girl who was caught up in little kisses and stupid feelings for Jeff Winger.

Yet, here she was. She couldn’t quite control herself whenever he was near. No matter how hard she willed herself to ignore the fuzzy feeling inside that begged her to kiss him, to touch him, she always gave in.

She knew it wasn't good for her.

But why did it have to feel so right?

-

When he got home, Jeff didn’t bother to turn on the lights. He stumbled around his apartment in a daze, his lips still burning where Annie’s had once been. He really wished she was here right now.

Not just because he felt at ease whenever she put her hand on his body and squeezed gently, not because her smile filled him with a fuzzy kind of warmness that he tried to put down as horniness so he’d feel a little less anxious about it all, and not just because he wanted to see her writhing on his bedsheets as he touched her, to hear her moaning his name (and believe him, he wanted that more than anything.)

So he slumped into bed, once again alone, and shut his eyes tight. He willed himself to not think about Annie and the way she breathed against him and the way her chest heaved when she pulled away and the way her eyes glistened… And yeah, he could totally stop thinking about her at any time, he told himself. The problem was that he didn’t even want to stop himself anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is going to be a bit of a slow burner between them, which I kind of love and hopefully you guys are enjoying it too!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during s6e07  
Jeff confronts some feelings, just not the right ones.

Annie had originally intended to focus her attention on keeping Britta away from the Subway guy who broke her heart, but she soon realised that whole situation was destined to be a train wreck and there was pretty much no use in her trying to convince Britta to not go down the path of getting her heart broken again. So she let her run off to Rick, and settled for a much easier task.

Plus it wasn't like Annie could talk about not running back to someone who hurt you without being a complete hypocrite, not with the way she spent that last five years hoping for the slightest sign that Jeff might want her half as much as she wanted him, to only end up sobbing in her room listening to Adele and eating pints of Ben & Jerry’s when he reminded her that they were _just friends_ and that was that on that. And then going back again, and again, _and again_.

Somethings never changed.

So instead she created a new project, something to take her mind off of Jeff’s complexities and the uncertainty of what was unravelling between them, especially when they were alone.

For once, she would finally take her own advice and not spend her free time daydreaming about him and over-analysing all their moments together.

So she threw herself into the job of becoming best friends with Elroy, and at least she had Abed to assist her. That'd take her mind off of things. 

-

And _of course_ Jeff couldn’t support them. He was always trying to play it off as if he had no feelings, even though she knew deep down that he cared about what Elroy thought just as much as the rest of them.

She wondered if he realised how ironic it was, putting in so much effort to appear _effortlessly _cool.

Anyway, it wasn’t a surprise that he refused to join them for their games night, despite Annie and Abed’s attempts of persuading him to. On one hand, she was weirdly relieved he wasn’t attending, as she knew she wouldn’t be feeling his gaze burning her skin, nor would she spend her whole night wondering, once they were alone again, if he’d make a move on her. But then again, she knew she'd miss the attention too so it was a bit of a double-edged sword. 

Nothing was easy with them, it didn't take her long to realise that. 

So she settled for sticking her tongue out at him, playfully teasing him about his obscene need to be seen as cool by everyone, even his friends. And she was pleasantly surprised when he repeated the gesture back, playing along with her. That was the Jeff she loved to see. Unguarded, carefree and having fun. Not the confident, cool, "I'm-trying-too-hard" Jeff Winger that he bought out sometimes. That guy sucked.

She smiled as she skipped out the doorway, happy with their interaction.

But then she had a thought... Just a little way for her to have some fun at his expense...

She checked to see where Abed had run off to, watched as he fled down the hallway towards the study room, then dipped back into Jeff’s office quietly.

With a strange and unfamiliar bout of confidence, she sauntered over to his desk and batted her eyelashes at him.

“It’s a shame you’re being _so _boring tonight, Jeff."

“You think you’re funny, don’t you?” he responded, his voice light as he chuckled and rolled his eyes at her comment.

He knew he wasn’t boring. His favourite scotch was just more interesting than playing a stupid little board game, that was all.

Annie didn’t respond, her newfound courage taking over. Before she had time to fully process what she was doing, she reached over and grabbed the scotch glass out of his hand and downed the drink in one sip.

She didn’t wince, just merely smiled back at him as she set the glass down, and skipped back out the room. Her work there was done. Now it was time to focus on getting Elroy to see what fantastic friend prospects herself and Abed were.

Jeff found himself stunned. He adjusted his jeans slightly and gulped, staring at the doorway where she once stood so innocently. 

Annie Edison was becoming more and more dangerous by the second. And he loved every moment of it.

-

Jeff hated the fact that he was now the new butt of the joke. That all his friends were laughing at him. This was _not _the way their group worked. He was supposed to be the one making them laugh, or laughing with them at someone else's poor fortune. Jeff Winger was _never _the joke.

Elroy seemed to be friendly with everyone else but him. But _why_?

Honestly, the guy barely knew him and wouldn’t give him the time of day.

Did he not know that Jeff was the coolest and best guy to know at Greendale?

Seriously, what was Elroy’s problem?

Jeff took a moment to ask himself why he was even bothering to lose his cool over this. It totally didn’t matter what Elroy thought anyway. He was dumb. This whole thing was dumb.

He kept telling himself that he didn’t care anymore, hoping that if he kept repeating it, maybe it’d come true.

-

Annie could see the cogs turning in his mind as he walked away from the group, the way he had obviously overanalysed the situation and it was starting to get to him. He was trying to hide his insecurities, play it off as a joke, but she knew. Deep down, Jeff Winger did have feelings, no matter how hard he tried to hide them. No matter how hard he denied himself of them. They were there, and Annie knew it.

She felt a bit like Britta, trying to decipher his thoughts and feelings to understand why he acted the bizarre way he did.

But at least she wasn’t trying to _talk_ to him about it. Now _that_ was a futile task.

-

“Why does he hate me?” Jeff whined, slumping down into the cafeteria booth. He threw the Natalie Is Freezing poster onto the table with a loud huff.

His sudden movements had taken Annie by surprise. She had just been sat there, going over her last minute school dance to do list whilst Frankie was organising something with the Dean. It took her a moment to process what he said and figure out the right way to respond to his moment of weakness.

“Jeff, he doesn’t _hate_ you.” she took hold of the poster he threw down and smoothed it out carefully. "You need to hang this up soon by the way, we haven't got much time left to set up."

“I can’t do anything right by him though," he said, ignoring the latter comment entirely. She sighed.

“I thought Jeff Winger didn’t care what anybody thought?”

He bit his bottom lip slightly, grunting at her comment. He didn’t come here to be _judged_, he just wanted some solid advice, and Annie was usually great at that sort of thing.

But he couldn’t help it. Every time he even tried with Elroy, the guy just walked away. If the guy could tolerate Chang of all people, what the hell was his problem with Jeff?

_I’m great company _he said to himself.

“You’re silently monologuing, aren’t you?” Abed asked, sitting down beside Annie in the same booth. “He’s a real Belushi.”

“_Abed_,” Annie stopped him going further with his analysis and then turned her attention back to Jeff. “Look, you did a nice thing getting his favourite band to come here for our dance tonight. Maybe you just need to talk to him and figure out what’s wrong? You guys just need to get to know each other and then I’m sure you’ll be good friends in no time."

It’s easy for her to say, Jeff thought, she had already won Elroy over. She could pretty much win anyone over without breaking a sweat. What if Elroy saw right through Jeff, didn’t see the coolness and the greatness he tried to convey, and just saw that deep down he was worthless and doing pretty much nothing with his life, all those thoughts that Jeff tried to keep buried with scotch and various other distractions.

He didn’t want to do something stupid, to march in there and demand to know what Elroy’s problem is and cause a huge commotion that resolved nothing, but he also knew Annie was kind of right and he would probably get nowhere if he sat there all night and wondered why people didn’t like him.

Plus the sooner he got it over with, the more he could spend his night drinking that bottle of scotch he had stashed in his office and with Annie. And his other friends, of course.

“Just go and tell him you want to be his friend and you didn’t mean to upset him,” she offered him a warm smile and leant over to squeeze his hand gently. Her voice was soft and smooth, and her words melted into his ears.

He grabbed onto her fingers just before she let go and kept them in his hands for a moment, his heart swelled in his chest at the sensation of her touch.

Of course it’d be Annie Edison who would convince him to face his feelings. Of course.

-

She found it kind of funny how simple it seemed to be, how easy Jeff took her advice about confronting his emotions and dealing with his estranged friendship with Elroy.

That he was willing to go to someone he had barely known for a year and tell him how he felt and open up ever so slightly, yet when it came to her… Nothing.

She tried not to be too disappointed. Tried to muster up her best poker face and winning smile so no one knew just how wrapped around Jeff Winger’s finger she was.

But seriously, what the hell was wrong with him?!

It was enough to start to wonder if he even had any feelings for her, beyond this weird situation they had found themselves in. Surely he had to view her as something more than just a friend to keep coming back to her, to keep finding themselves wrapped up in each other. There was definitely something undeniable between them; a heated passion, a relentless want and need for each other. 

And yet it was ridiculous that he wouldn’t even talk to her about it. Not that she tried to talk to him either… But that was only because she knew if she tried to, it would be pointless. That, and she’d probably ruin everything they had, including their friendship. And it wasn’t really worth losing all that, not when she’d be leaving Greendale soon…

-

"Once again, I should probably thank you for helping me out," Jeff found her by the drinks table, organising and stacking cups. He wasn't surprised that she found someway to keep herself busy when she was supposed to be having a good time and actually partying. He decided to step in.

"It's a thankless task helping you out of your messes," she winked, placing the cups down neatly beside her.

"Wanna dance?" 

Natalie Is Freezing had just finished their set, and Abed had hooked up his phone to some speakers and pressed shuffle. 

Some cheesy pop song that Jeff had heard on the radio before but didn't really care for was playing, but he imagined Annie was into that kind of stuff so...

"Oh. Um. Sure," she turned and reached for two cups, quickly filled them with whatever was in the punch bowl and offered him a drink. Maybe it was liquid courage. 

They sipped silently, both staring into each others eyes a little too intently for it to be completely innocent. A moment passed before Jeff offered her his arm. "Milady?"

"Milord," she grinned, and linked her arm around his, following him into the crowd.

They come to a halt at a less crowded part of the makeshift dance floor and Jeff instinctively placed his arms around her waist, pulling her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck, the ends of his hair tickling her fingers as they start to sway together.

It's nice and peaceful and it almost feels like a daydream to Annie, who can't quite believe Jeff is willing to do such a public display of affection. Maybe she did get through to him, she thought.

"You look really nice tonight," he smiled.

"Thank you. As do you." Her cheeks turned rose red as she looked at him bashfully through her lashes.

"This feels like high school prom."

"This is definitely better than my prom."

"You know what," he paused, lost in thought. "Mine too."

They exchange another grin, falling back into a comfortable silence.

Jeff looked up, eyes darting around the room to locate his friends. Frankie, Elroy and Britta had disappeared, the Dean was engaged in a serious debate with Chang by the snacks, and Abed was sat near the speaker, clearly queueing up some songs. None of them had noticed Jeff and Annie dancing. 

None of them caught him leaning down as he gently pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

And none of them spotted Annie stepping on her tip-toes as she pulled him towards her and kissed him hard on the lips.

He pulled away, blinking in confusion. 

He had that look in his eye... Oh _god_, what had she done...

"I'll, um. See ya tomorrow." he let go of her body and stepped aside, disappearing into the crowd and leaving her stood there alone and devastated. 


	5. Chapter 5

TEXT: JEFF: I’m sorry.  
TEXT: JEFF: Please forgive me.

He sat by his phone for hours after he pressed send, anxiously awaiting her reply. He flicked his phone from loud to silent and back again a few times, unsure which option was best. Did he want to sit around and wait for the _ding_ of his phone or try to ignore it altogether and hope whenever he checked his home screen next, she would've replied. He tried to keep himself busy but his eyes kept wandering to the screen, wondering when it would light up.

He waited five days for her reply.

TEXT: ANNIE: We’re all meeting tonight at the bar, are you joining us? If so, be there for 7.

His stomach churned and his mouth felt suddenly dry and rough, he tried to swallow down the fear bubbling in his throat.

He’d really fucked up.

Picking up the small device off of his coffee table, he read the text a few more times, until the words seemed blurry and nonsensical, and then he threw the phone across the room in a fit of rage.

It was a dumb idea. He shouldn't have kissed her. He shouldn't have asked her to dance. Because there he was that night, trying to pluck up the courage to tell her how he felt, and he choked.

He choked because she kissed him.

She kissed him, and even though he wanted nothing more than to grab her then and there and finally say something, he ran off instead.

_Fuck. He was such a dick._

And now she’d probably never forgive him.

All because he feared getting caught out. He was scared of everyone finding out what they had been doing and knowing how he felt about her. He had spent the better part of the last five years hiding his feelings from them, so much so that he was even hiding them from himself.

Jeff felt sick at the thought of their questioning, how they’d probably judge him for chasing a younger woman and taking advantage of the crush that they all knew Annie had on him, maybe they couldn't see that he was hopelessly… _something _when it came to Annie.

He knew that felt something for her but he didn’t know how to put into words. Every time he tried to set his mind straight, it made him feel weak at the knees, his head felt fuzzy and blurry and his lips tingled, longing for hers to be on his again. That’s the only way he could ever describe it. It was past the point of him just _wanting_ to be near her, he felt like he _needed_ her. 

Yet he couldn’t quite bring himself to tell her that. Because even just the thought of telling her absolutely terrified him. The feelings he felt inside were fine when he pushed them down and pretended they didn’t exist, but openly admitting that he felt them? Having to stand there and look her in the eye listening to him drone on and on about his feelings? Jeff knew his hands would clam up and his throat would close... He'd probably just pass out from the anxiety of it all. 

_God, he was fucked up._

And if all that wasn’t enough to deal with, Chang had now gone and gotten himself out of the bear-trap that was Greendale and much to everyone’s surprise had actually made something of himself.

He was trending, he was now.

And Jeff was nothing but a shitty friend and a shitty teacher.

He poured himself a scotch with shaky hands, spilling some of the liquid across the counter in the process. Bringing the cup to his lips, he downed it and gasped for air.

Grabbing his keys, he left his apartment and headed for the bar on foot. It was a while away, but Jeff reckoned he could use the fresh air. He needed some time to clear his head before he was face to face with Annie again.

-

She probably would have forgiven him by now if he had apologised properly and not just via text message.

What she needed, and rightly deserved, was a _real_ apology.

She wasn’t looking for him to run to her in the pouring rain, admitting that he loved her and that he messed up and that he’d do anything to prove how enamoured he was, but anything would’ve been better than the brief text he had sent.

Although she had to admit, the thought of him running to her The Notebook style, soaked through and hopelessly devoted to her, well, that would’ve been very romantic. But she had come to realise that it was just a pipe dream to expect anything near romance from Jeff Winger. It was merely just the stuff of daydreams.

If he had just tried to talk to her face to face - like a friend would and _should_ \- she would have respected his feelings even if it pained her to do so. 

She really had to stop letting him do this to her. She really had to stop acting as if everything was normal between them.

So she ignored him. She didn’t forgive him. She wouldn’t give him the time of day.

Her plan was to be cool and aloof.

She didn’t sit next to him at the bar. She barely responded to his comments, only throwing in the occasional aside when it was required so she wouldn’t throw everyone else off (the last thing she wanted was for everyone to notice the tension between them and for the night to transcend into a “what happened between Jeff and Annie” fiasco. She knew how her friends could react to even the slightest bit of change, so she couldn’t let on too much.

But then he said something that stuck with her, his words burned into her mind. She wasn’t sure if it was just a passing comment, a genuine statement or merely a dumb joke, but she couldn’t stop her mind from whirring, going over the words again and again until they no longer made sense.

_“You get out of Greendale or you get me in your corner, you can’t have both.”_

Was that really how he felt?

Was he so scared of everyone leaving that he pushed people away, and if so, was he doing that with her?

The conversation swiftly moved on between the group, but those words sat stirring in Annie’s mind. She decided that she was going to talk to him about it, just as soon as she could get him alone. Her plan didn't last very long.

-

The group ended up in her apartment that night anyway, all crowded around Abed’s video of Chang, discussing how their new film venture could take off and plunge Greendale into the limelight.

Soon enough, everyone was rushing around trying to get everything sorted for the upcoming film. Abed disappeared with his laptop, his mind spinning with plans on his new space movie. Frankie and the Dean had followed Maury the director out of the apartment, discussing funds and the potential payoff of the project, Britta and Elroy had slipped out at some point, presumably back to the bar for a nightcap, animatedly discussing his CG creations.

So that left Annie and Jeff alone in her living room.

When he noticed he was the only one there, he shuddered. He’d either have to slip out very quietly so she didn’t notice, or he’d have to face his fears and talk to her.

Option one was looking really good…

“Jeff,” she called out, not even turning around in her chair to look at him.

_Crap_.

“Yeah?”

She was standing now, her eyes fixed on his, moving closer. He hoped she couldn’t tell how nervous he was.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure…” his voice was uneasy. He shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to hide the fact they were trembling ever so slightly. Here goes nothing, he thought to himself.

“Before you say anything. I want to apologise to you properly. I shouldn’t have done that to you, Annie. It was a dick move, more of a dick move than I’m usually capable of. And I know I’ve made quite a few mistakes since we’ve became friends but that doesn’t make what I did to you ok. Because it wasn’t ok and I’m so so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but in a way that’s why I did what I did, and I know it’s stupid because I hurt you by running off anyway... It’s just all so complicated and my head feels like it’s going to burst and I don’t know what to do but I don’t want to lose you,” he blurted out. He barely had time to think about the words that had left his mouth; he just hoped he said the right thing. 

“I accept your apology," she paused thoughtfully. "But I don’t forgive you yet. You can’t keep doing this to me, Jeff. Saying you don’t want to hurt me, and then going on to do exactly that… It just doesn’t make sense. Did you not want me to kiss you? Is that was the problem was? Because you could’ve just said you thought it was a bad idea and I wouldn’t try it again.” Her eyes were a little bit wet. She willed herself not to sob in front of him.

“No. Jesus, not at all. You kissing me wasn’t bad. It’s _never_ bad,” he stopped and sighed, hoping the next bit didn’t make him sound like a complete dick. “But it was part of the problem, I guess. I just… I didn’t want everyone to see us kissing and judge us or try to get involved or for it to become a bigger deal than it is. This is between us, and I just know when Abed, Britta or The Dean catch wind of this…”

“Oh, I see.”

“I like kissing you,” was all he could muster, his voice low and laced with sadness.

“Well I do too obviously,” she smiled weakly. “But I don’t want to settle for being your secret forever. By saying that, I don’t mean that we have to rush to change anything between us now, but it’s not fair to keep me hanging on. I don’t want to feel like this every time we kiss.”

“Have things between us always been this…” he tried to think of the right word to say.

“Complex?” she finished his sentence. “Yeah, I think so.”

Annie let out a hint of a laugh, and it broke the tension between them.

Sure, he knew that things were nowhere near being back to normal for them, but knowing she didn’t hate his guts was a step in the right direction at least.

“So was that what you wanted to talk about?”

She hesitated slightly, her lips parting and closing a few times before she finally decided she was ready to speak. “No it wasn’t actually. I was worried about you. You said something earlier than I found a little concerning. I mean, you don’t have to talk about it with me, but I wanted to see if you were ok.”

“Ok… You’re going to have to be a little more descriptive about what it is I said, Annie.”

“You said ‘You get out of Greendale or you get me in your corner, you can’t have both’… Is that really how you feel about everyone leaving?”

He flinched at her words, not expecting them to hurt as much as they did. Not because what she said was mean or hurtful or wrong, but just because of the emotions they elicited within him. He felt like his stomach was tied in knots, he tried to breathe through it.

“Not exactly. Mostly just applied to Chang, I guess. I won’t _hate_ people for leaving, that word’s too strong.”

“So what’s your problem then?”

“He wasn’t supposed to leave, let’s be honest. All of us thought Chang was a deadbeat and the only time he’d be famous was for some weird crime, like you said. He wasn’t supposed to make it.”

She nodded along, encouraging him to continue. He was not sure where he found this new desire to share his inner thoughts and feelings, but it actually felt kind of nice getting some things off his chest.

“I guess I’m just mad. And embarrassed. I was supposed to make it out of here before anyone else did and now look at me. I failed as a lawyer, and I’m a pretty bad teacher too. So everyone’s gonna go out there and make it big and do _something_ with their lives, and where will I be? Stuck in Greendale probably still teaching some law class that no one even shows up for. And I won’t have anybody here anymore. Everyone I know will be gone.”

“C’mon now, you’re not _that_ old,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood. He faked a smile so he didn’t hurt her feelings, but couldn't even muster up a witty remark back. He couldn’t quite hide that empty feeling that lurked inside now that he had confronted it.

“Hey, listen." Her tone was more serious, and she put her hand on his arm reassuringly. "I know you think everyone’s going to up and leave without you, but that’s not true. First of all, I suppose we all haven’t discussed our plans after this year, but I don’t think everyone is in such a rush to leave,” she smiled at him hopefully. “And besides, who says that has to be your life? Jeff, you have as much of a chance of any of us at a fresh start and a new life. You can do anything if you put your mind to it and you put the work in. I believe in you.”

“And while I appreciate that, Annie, your belief in me does not take back the fact that I had my entire youth to make all the stupid mistakes I made. Instead, I paid the price far too late and started a new chapter well into my thirties. I'm just too damn old to do anything else, this is me now."

“You are not too old,” she protested.

“Well, I am,” he said stubbornly back, his chest heaving. He shrugged off her arm, tired of arguing. He knew the truth, even if she tried to paint him with her Disney "everybody has a happy ending" brush, he saw himself for what he really was.

“If I thought you were too old, would I do _this_?” she stomped up to him, grabbing his face and pulling him in for a hard, rushed kiss. It was over too soon, but he still felt that electric current surging through his body that she managed to elicit every time she put her mouth to his.

He could barely string a sentence together to reply, but fortunately for him, he didn’t really have to.

“Stop putting yourself down and _do_ something. Learn something. Find something new to try. You are in charge of your destiny, Jeff. And if you don’t act now, I don’t think you ever will.”

She hoped he realised she wasn’t just talking about his job prospects.

-

Jeff looked ridiculous.

Yeah, you could just about spot his abs between the white blouse he was told to wear which he supposed made up for the costume slightly, but the wig and the glued on brows? Not cool.

He was hoping for a look that was a little more like Chris Pratt, a little less Gandalf the White.

Especially after Annie said she liked him so much. She hadn't stopped gushing about him since she'd watched Parks and Recs, and he definitely didn't secretly watch it to check out his "competition".

Then she'd obviously gone and seen him in the new Jurassic Park. The one where they had clearly CGI'd his abs. Regardless, his definitely weren’t as rock-hard as Jeff’s abs, so there was no real competition there anyway. 

But he guessed it didn’t really matter, not that he cared about this movie thing that much. They just had to get it over and done with.

Shitty films could still make it big though, and if Jeff got a little popularity out of it, he wouldn't complain.

He hadn’t really been paying attention to the whole thing really, until Annie walked in.

But then he had to try really hard not to smirk, or longingly gaze at Annie in her costume. He licked his lips subconsciously as his eyes roamed her body, taking in the sight of her, imagining what it would look like if she was wearing nothing but that foiled bra…

Unlike Britta, he wasn’t complaining. Her costume choice was _awesome_.

She did lack a certain Annie-ness about herself though, stripped away from her cutesy cardigans and formal attire, swapping it for something tighter and more revealing. Her hair looked so shiny and soft, he had to fight the instinct within him to march over and run his hands through it, letting his fingers tangle themselves in her tresses, releasing the sweet scent of her shampoo as he kissed her. It was certainly the case that Annie could look good in just about anything, or nothing, if Jeff had his way. 

She was wearing more makeup than usual too, it made her eyes looked brighter and bluer, if that was possible, and the gloss she had applied made her lips look extra kissable. If only he could just nibble on her bottom lip slightly…

He stopped himself from going too far with his internal monologue, knowing the draping fabric his costume had been made out of wouldn’t be too forgiving if he got himself over-excited.

-

“You really had to wear that?” Britta’s voice was low, she was doing little to hide her disapproval. “You set us back _centuries_ when you fall into the habit of objectifying yourself for the male gaze! So gross, Annie.”

“I like this outfit, thank you very much,” she squeaked back.

“So the bra and the short shorts, that has nothing to do with your need to seduce a certain co-star?”

“I’m not seducing anybody, Britta,” she huffed. “Besides, I’m an adult. I can wear what I want.”

Britta was unconvinced. “You’re lying! This is all for Winger and we both know it.”

Annie gulped.

“_I KNEW IT_,” Britta announced loudly, “You lo---” she tried to taunt her but Annie ran over and put a hand over her mouth. While they were alone now, who was to say when Abed or Jeff would walk in and this was not a conversation she wanted either of them to hear. Damn Britta and her loudmouth.

“Shut up,” she tried to think of a comeback, something to insult Britta about, but faltered.

“I can’t believe you’d do that,” she laughed. “I mean props to you. Your legs look great,” Britta stopped to admire her friend with a nod. “But still. Don’t resort to these methods to get his attention. That's so cliché.”

“ I kind of like playing dress up… I don’t feel like the regular Annie when I look like this, you know? It’s just a bit of fun. It’s not for him though I did think he’d like it,” she said, her cheeks tinted pink. It all felt a bit strange to talk about. She had spent so long only going over the thoughts in her own mind, that it felt weird finally admitting something to someone else.

“I guess… But anyway, this conversation is about more than just your outfit. So... Jeff, huh?”

Annie wasn’t really sure how to approach the topic with Britta. Not just because of her complicated history with Jeff, but also because it was never like the two girls were ever good friends. They didn’t sit around braiding each other’s hair and talking about their crushes, they never once had a sleepover, and Annie was pretty sure Britta said she was like an annoying little sister once behind her back.

“I hope it’s not weird.”

“You think ‘cos I humped and dumped him years ago that it might be weird, right? I mean, I guess I feel a little icky, but it all makes sense, you and him.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, there was obviously a reason why Jeff and I never worked out. I always just assumed it was because he was emotionally unavailable in bed, kinda shitty to talk to about most things, and basically just a huge man-child, but now it makes sense. His heart was always somewhere else…”

“What do you mean?” Annie asked, feeling a little bit ill at the mention of Jeff and Britta in bed together. That’s a thought she’s tried to erase from her mind many times before.

“His heart was with you. It was always you, Annie. I’m stupid for not realising sooner,” her tone seems to have saddened, her voice not as as light and joking as before. “I mean, I don’t care if you were to… you know. It’s a little weird, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing.”

“I don’t think it’s going to happen, anyway,” Annie offered.

Britta looked up, confused. “Uh, why?”

“Well it’s not long till the year is over… And ok, you have to promise you won’t tell anyone.”

Annie extended her pinky and glared at Britta until she intertwined their fingers and shook them.

“Me and Jeff kissed.”

Britta faked a gasp, clutching at her chest dramatically. “Oh my god!! What!!! No way!!! Duh doy, Annie. You’ve kissed loads of times, tell me something I don’t know.”

“Well that’s just it. It keeps happening. I don’t know what it is, but it’s like we can’t stop. And then he got all weird on me last time because I kissed him after Natalie Is Freezing and I don’t know, I scared him off. He just ran out of there and didn't say anything, it was so weird.”

“Ah, the old public declaration of love scared him right off. I can relate to that,” Britta mused with a laugh. “Sorry. Should probably stop bringing stuff like that up…”

Annie shrugged in response, slightly uncomfortable with the memory it triggered. That night, after all, was the start of all the drama between Annie and Jeff too. Definitely not her best moment.

“Judging by the way he’s been chasing after you like a lost puppy today, and any other day now I think about it, I’d say you guys are fine. But yeah, he’s shit scared of confronting his feelings on his own, put him in front of a crowd and you’re basically asking for a catastrophe of epic proportions. Like worse than that time he thought we swapped his imported face cream for that Target own brand. We should definitely do that one day though...” Britta lost her train of thought for a second, smiling to herself and daydreaming about potential pranks.

“I guess you’re right.”

Britta snapped back into the conversation, “Just promise me one thing, Annie?”

“I won’t get hurt,” Annie sighed, she had grown tired of being treated like a fragile, little girl by her friends, it's about time they realised she was a woman! 

“It’s not just you I’m worried about.”

-

Abed was frustrated.

Scratch that. He was a lot of different things right now.

He was annoyed he couldn’t create the movie he wanted; you know, a movie that was actually good and watchable and one that didn’t involve shoddy inconsistencies that could easily be fixed.

He was confused how Jeff had managed to convince him that making a bad movie wouldn’t necessarily be a _bad_ thing. But then Abed guessed he was also taking one for the team, and he had come to learn that doing things for his friends was good.

He was amused that Jeff had developed a newfound obsession with competing with Chris Pratt after Annie mused about how good looking he was (and yes, he was waiting for the two of them to finally get together, but he assumed that would happen in their season finale and they weren’t quite there yet).

But despite all this, he pushed those thoughts aside and tried to focus on making the best out of a bad situation.

He pulled out a notepad, scrawling some notes quickly onto a piece of paper, before ripping it out and heading out the room.

“Frankie!” he called down the hall, until she suddenly appeared, clutching her folder to her chest and with an annoyed look on her face. “I need you to write this for me quickly. I have some plans.”

-

After Annie had ‘improved’ the scene by telling Jeff’s character that she loved him (Abed's words, not hers), Abed sent them away to practice a new scene he was adding in.

Jeff and Annie were provided with makeshift scripts, handwritten by Frankie in her barely legible scrawl, and told to learn their lines whilst the rest of the team viewed the day’s footage in the cafeteria. He shouted some advice to them as they walked away, something about how every great movie had some sort of love story, and they needed to sell this… Jeff wasn’t all too bothered about that.

Easy task, he thought.

-

“You’re here, Scorpio Nine,” Jeff struggled to read out the line, his words disjointed as he tried to decipher the script.

“Me hero!” she happily shouted. “Wait. No. My hero!” she corrected herself, huffing with frustration.

Jeff couldn’t help but laugh at her mistake, but her glare made him quickly regain composure to continue.

“You were always my favourite, you know,” Jeff read a note in Abed’s tight handwriting, must be some kind of direction. He did as the writing instructed and walked over to Annie, grabbing her waist.

“What are you doing?” she jumped slightly.

“What it says in the script?” he answered with a questioning tone, but let go of her, finding the gesture a little weird now. Why was she freaking out about this? They had done worse things. They could be doing worse things right now, while they were alone in the study room.

For one, he could have had her pinned up against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist… Or they could have been laying across a desk together, his legs in-between hers, her gentle moans escaping her lips…

He didn’t need to think about that right now though.

“You can read it?” she shouted, pulling the paper away from her face and squinting at the words. “This is pointless. I have no idea what’s supposed to be going on.”

“Well let’s improvise,” he said, not wanting the moment to be over. He was kind of glad they had a bit of time alone together, now that things were back to normal between them. “Let’s just make it up and Abed will have to include it.”

He threw his script onto the floor and watched as she did the same.

“Ok…” she paused to think. “I was starting to think you’d forgotten all about me.”

“I could never forget you, Scorpio,” he finds his eyes drawn to her chest, watching her cleavage heave as he once again swept her into his arms. This time, she didn't resist.

He can’t tell if they’re just really good acting or if they're just _really _enjoying some alone time.

She smirked up at him. “I’ve been dreaming of this moment, you know.”

“Me too. For so long.”

They stared into each other’s eyes longingly, both waiting for the other to make a move.

It felt like forever until Jeff finally tilted his face towards hers, feeling her warm breath his face as he leant in, pressing his lips softly on hers. She moaned into him, leaning forward into his embrace, and he wrapped one arm around her waist to hold her in place. His other hand found itself at the back of her head, getting lost in the softness of her hair.

She pulled away to regain her breath and smiled. She had a sparkle in her eye that drove him wild – those damn Disney eyes were always too hard to resist, he told himself. He pulled her body back towards him, catching her in his arms and leaning her down to the floor. Her hair spilled off of her shoulders and down her back, and she gasped excitedly, her eyes darkening as she looked up at him.

“Jeff,” she moaned, and pulled his head down towards her, kissing him hard. Her nails dug their way into his neck and the gesture only made him want her more.

“Oh hey guys, I have some news…” Abed walked in and blinked at them as they jumped and stared at him, trying to act as if nothing happened.

“Oh good, you guys are already off script,” he looked down at the papers on the floor. “And you’ve rehearsed that kissing sequence. Cool. Cool cool cool,” Abed gave them the thumbs up, and they played along as if they had a clue what he was talking about.

“Bad news though. We’re not going to need to film this scene anymore due to time constraints with the movie. So you’ve been wasting your time in here for nothing, sorry.”

“Oh, no need to apologise,” Jeff says, a little too cockily. Annie responded by smacking him in the chest and giving him her signature, pointed look. 

“What can we be doing then to help, Abed?” Annie asked, trying to regain her composure. Jeff noticed that her hair was still a little too messy from where his hands had been running through it, and her lipstick was a little smudged around her lips. He wiped his mouth and spotted some of the glossy colour on his hand as he pulled it away. Oops.

“I just need Jeff for his death sequence scene. You can go if you want, Annie.”

She followed Abed out of the room without a word but made sure to stop and look back at Jeff, offering him one last wink as she sauntered out of the study room.

“One of your eyebrows has fallen off,” she giggled before she departed.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think I'm 100% happy with this, but I wasn't really a big fan of this episode so coming up with a decent idea was pretty hard - I've already planned out and am loving the next chapters a bit more, so hopefully this too much of a disappointment.


End file.
